Fate
by Alexia-Starr
Summary: Serena wasn't supposed to have been in the World Trade Center, but she had been anyway, borrowing money from her older sister Rei. Thus, a tale of romance begans between Serena and the mysterious blue-eyed police officer who saved her from the brinks dest
1. Note

Due to several emails, I have decided to put Fate back on. I have extended the Prologue some though. Enjoy.  
  
S. Hairston 


	2. Prologue: Hope is the Thing with Feather...

Hi everyone! I took of my story "Underneath Your Clothes" due to lack of   
  
reviews. I'm replacing it with "Fate" and from now on you can really expect   
  
for me to update all my stories at least once weekly. I started this story last   
  
years as a project and I wanted to get feedback. I hope you enjoy.  
  
8:45 a.m.  
  
Darien Taylor took another bite of his bacon as he stirred extra cream   
  
and sugar into the thick, almost unbearable coffee from the diner across the   
  
street. His mind wandered to Candy, the woman he had took out the night   
  
before. Their date had ended on a high note with her legs wrapped around   
  
him. A smile lifted his features. He had told her that he would call her and he was   
  
seriously considering scheduling another date for that evening.  
  
"I see someone is happy today. I guess you got laid last night?" Lita   
  
Wilkes, his partner mused while pushing her thick auburn hair into a curly   
  
ponytail at the nape of her neck.   
  
Darien pouted, "Ah Lita, do you underestimate me that much?" He mussed her   
  
ponytail.  
  
Her lively emerald eyes glimmered. "What was her name?"  
  
"Candy."   
  
She spit out a mouthful of his coffee that she had just taken the liberty   
  
to taste, "Candy! Your tastes run from bad to worse every week. I bet she had   
  
lots of platinum hair, blue eyes, and a 38-D chest."  
  
Darien shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "No! She had brown   
  
eyes. But her ass wasn't nearly as nice as yours."  
  
Lita said nothing but looked at him and shoved her middle finger up with a sweet   
  
smile. He was sexy with ebony hair and a muscled, tanned body. However, his most   
  
dominant feature were his ice blue eyes that completely contrasted with his dark   
  
splendor. A woman could fall in love by gazing into those eyes. She had instantly been   
  
attracted to him the first time she had laid eyes on him but after a week, she   
  
had immediately ruled out the thought of dating him. He reminded of her an   
  
older brother figure.... one who preferred big-busted blondes. However, his   
  
infatuation did not interfere with his work. He was one of the best police   
  
officers in the Port Authority Police Department, although he had never   
  
received the proper credit for his works. Despite the fact that he had a thick   
  
barrier of masculinity, Lita could see that he firmly believed in justice. "I'll be   
  
right back, I'm going to...." She began but was cut off by Melvin McCullon's   
  
voice stuttering.  
  
"Go away Melvin!" She exclaimed, rolling her eyes. She figured that he was   
  
coming to ask her on a date again though she had repeatedly turned him down. Looking   
  
at him though, she knew that it wasn't a date he had come for. Something had happened.  
  
"Oh my God." He muttered, his face ashen and his hands shook unevenly.   
  
Darien's brow knotted together, "What's wrong Melvin, still sick over   
  
the woman you picked up last night?" The night before, Melvin had his first   
  
run-in with a devoted junkie. The experience hadn't gone too well.  
  
"No. Haven't you heard? A plane just crashed into the World Trade   
  
Center." Melvin commented numbly, tears threatening to spill over.  
  
"Ah fuck! Is it bad?" Darien asked, scratching his head. He figured that a plane   
  
took a low dip and grazed the side of the building. Though he couldn't figure out how   
  
any pilot would not see the giant sky-scraper.  
  
At that moment, over the intercom a voice announced, "All units   
  
respond! Plane crash into the World Trade Center."  
  
Lita gazed softly at Darien, hoping that Melvin was playing a sick joke   
  
but she realized that Melvin was always serious and the announcement along   
  
with all the uproar was self-explanatory. Whatever had taken place was bad, really bad.   
  
"I'll get ready." She muttered. Before she began to walk away, a set of numbers was   
  
announced over the intercom. "Darien, what's that mean?" She demanded, struck that he   
  
looked so wan and sick.  
  
  
  
"It means... this is some big trouble. Shit, what's going on?" He asked.  
  
  
  
Darien placed his forehead in his hands. Little did he know that all of   
  
his years as a cop would be tested in the next few hours.  
  
8:40 a.m.  
  
Serena Lawrence pouted as her sister, Rei Sutherland, shook her   
  
ebony-maned head disapprovingly. It wasn't an unusual habit for Serena to   
  
strike such an irresistibly charming pose, after all, she was dead broke. Rei, of   
  
course had an awesome job working as a supervisor for the American Bureau   
  
of Shipping. Rena, as her sister was fond of calling her, wasn't jealous or   
  
envious of her successful sister, in fact, she loved Rei very deeply. She had   
  
known as a young child that her call had been dancing and had ruthlessly   
  
pursued it. Currently, however, dancers weren't getting as much work in New   
  
York as they had in past years. That disappointing factor was her sole purpose   
  
for visiting her sisters office. What she didn't expect was to have her sister grill   
  
her about her recent break-up with Gavin Giannini, the Gap model who   
  
would most likely forever think he was God's gift to ladies.   
  
"Can you handle staying in a relationship any longer than a month?"   
  
Rei demanded, disgusted at her sister's unhealthy dating habits. Her frown deepened as   
  
she saw Serena flipping through a magazine making gaga eyes over some male model.  
  
Serena looked up and gave a sweet smile. She blew Rei a kiss, "You love me, honey. Why else would you worry about who I fu..."   
  
Rei cut her off with a tight smile, "Rena, sweetie, I have work to do so I'd   
  
appreciate it if you'd go home." When her sister didn't budge, she added in a very   
  
commanding voice, "Now!"  
  
Serena pouted even more, this time the sweet puppy face, "How much do you love me?"  
  
Rei didn't like the way Serena had asked that, "Enough. Why?"  
  
  
  
"Does Rei wanna lend Rena-Tina a hundred bucks till tomorrow?" Serena's blue   
  
eyes were hopeful.  
  
A frown crossed Rei's brow, "What happened to the hundred I lent you   
  
last week?"  
  
"Spent it on the cutest shoes and...." Serena covered her mouth and   
  
realized that she had said too much. When she had borrowed the money, she   
  
had said that she needed it to help with her car payment. She had been telling   
  
the truth; however, after seeing the strappy sandals for only $85 she had   
  
quickly decided to avoid paying the monthly on her precious Mustang.  
  
"Serena," Rei's voice was very stern, "You need to stop spending so   
  
much money on shoes and clothes. If you're going to buy that much, why   
  
don't you take Gavin's advice and model. You're the perfect size for it."  
  
Wrinkling up her pert nose, Serena took a slow sip of her steaming   
  
coffee, "My butt and thighs aren't right." As if trying to demonstrate, she wiggled her   
  
bottom, but the effort did not prove to be effective.  
  
A groan was heard from Rei, "You're a dancer. Of course your butt   
  
and thighs are right."  
  
"I am indeed a dancer and I don't intend to model and waste my   
  
perfectly good talents and great legs. Don't be such a prune Rei!" She stated   
  
matter-of-factly, planting her hands firmly on either side of her hips.  
  
Rei's dark blue eyes flashed and then she rolled them, she pulled a silky   
  
looking piece of fabric out of her desk drawer and stood, "I'm going to take   
  
this upstairs to Margo Ellis, she lent it to me to wear to Brad's birthday party   
  
and I just got it out the cleaners yesterday afternoon. We'll continue this   
  
discussion when I come back." Rei smiled to herself. That had been the night   
  
that her little surprise had been conceived, though neither Serena or Brad   
  
knew about that.  
  
Serena blocked the door-way. "No way am I letting you leave until you   
  
at least hear me out."   
  
Pursing her lips into a thin line, her sister sat back down at the desk and   
  
began to fiddle with a pen. "Go ahead, Serena." She wanted to hear this explanation.   
  
Sometimes she believed that Serena should have been an actor with the interesting spiels   
  
that she developed.  
  
"I realize that I'm young and that I sometimes act.... frivolous, as you   
  
say. But I really do mean well, I'm just sometimes distracted by things that   
  
people my age are distracted by and they include..."  
  
"Cute men, sex, flashy cars, and expensive clothes and jewelry?" Rei's   
  
suggestion evoked a heated glare from the younger woman who flipped her long hair   
  
over her shoulder.  
  
"Well, technically, but I'm 21. Maybe someday I'll get a great job like   
  
you and be able to loan you money, did you ever look at it in that   
  
perspective?"   
  
Rei realized that Serena was making an excellent point as she often   
  
times did. Perhaps, she didn't give Rena enough credit, after all, they were   
  
nothing alike. Rei had grown up in an entirely different decade wanting to be   
  
powerful and successful and Rena had been a dreamer. "I love you so much,   
  
kid." Rei sighed, reaching for her purse. She was distracted by the hum of an   
  
engine. "Damn, I thought they told those idiots not to fly the planes so close,   
  
you'd think that they'd learn by now." She placed the bill in Serena's small   
  
hand, "Spend it wisely, transportation is more important than a pair of shoes   
  
or a handbag!"   
  
Serena did her spirit fingers and smiled happily, "Love you honey, see   
  
you later."  
  
Rei wasn't listening, she was still disturbed by the sound of the   
  
humming engine that had increased instead of decreased. Her eyes were glued   
  
out the window as she gazed up at the smooth white underbelly of the sleek   
  
jet, her jaw dropped slightly as she realized just how fast it was going. "Oh my   
  
God..." The whisper was soft, but it drew Serena's attention. The blonde had   
  
little time to react because before she could scream, a deafening roar   
  
consumed her ears.   
  
Rei watched, frozen, as the bookshelves, so masterfully clinging to the   
  
walls, crumbled and she felt nothing but sheer horror as the ceiling caved. She   
  
moved away from the window quickly as the glass began to shatter and finally realized   
  
that the screams that she heard were her own, not her sisters. Reality slowly sunk in as   
  
the debris began to fall from the floors above her, there, she heard silence. Blood chilling   
  
silence.   
  
Her gaze shifted mechanically around the room looking for Serena, "Rena!   
  
Rena!" Her shrieks filled the quiet space. They stopped when a pale,   
  
scarlet-painted hand buried beneath the rubble caught her attention. A lifetime   
  
seemed to pass by before she had pulled each piece of plaster and wood off of   
  
the almost lifeless body, by this time, the tips of her fingers were bleeding from the work.   
  
"Serena? Speak to me." She whispered furiously. "Do you hear me? Speak, dammit!"  
  
Blood matted the side of Serena's beautiful face and instinctively, Rei brushed   
  
the pale blonde hair away from the blood. Serena loved her hair as much as   
  
she loved.... life. The dull absolution set into Rei's mind as she smelled   
  
smoke. They were going to die. Choking on sobs, she dragged her sister's   
  
battered body underneath her desk and then curling up in a ball, she cried.   
  
She would never see her husband again, she would never be able to tell him   
  
about the child living inside of her. She wiped away the tears refusing to panic   
  
but she knew that it was time to panic, and dragging her sister once more, made her way   
  
out across the debris to the door and opened it. She had always giggled when she was   
  
younger as Reverend Tyler preached about Revelations and fire and brimstone, but now,   
  
she utterly believed it. Finally she heard the screams and the scurrying, she   
  
was thankful when David, her assistant passed by covered in soot.  
  
"What's happened?" She choked, tears falling rolling down her cheeks. "Help me   
  
David. Rena.... she's unconscious, help me get out of here. Please?" By now, her voice   
  
was raspy and the smoke was getting to her.  
  
David paused for a minute but then shook his head when chunks of ceiling once   
  
again began to rain from above, "You're on your own Rei. Leave her here and save   
  
yourself. Don't you have any idea what has happened." He shook her furiously, "We've   
  
been hit, the mother fucker struck right over us!" With those words he ran off. Rei's   
  
beautiful face crumbled, and she stared down at the slumped form of Serena in her arms.   
  
She would not leave her sister to die. If she had to, she would die trying to save Serena.   
  
With those positive thoughts in mind and despite the falling debris, she began to drag her   
  
sister down the crowded stairways. It was dark. Rei had always hated the dark. She   
  
wanted light, but most of all, she wanted to live. The heat began to consume her and she   
  
felt herself get dizzy. The downward trek seemed like a maze; one that led to life or   
  
doom.  
  
The voice of a woman was screaming and at first the sound was muffled, but then   
  
Rei realized what she was saying, "Oh God, where are you now? Where?"  
  
Rei wanted to slap the shrill idiot. She wanted to slap her for asking a question   
  
such as that. But she couldn't, she wouldn't. Serena needed her. Sobs and shrieks of   
  
terror surrounded her, but she wouldn't scream. Rei questioned herself about humanity   
  
when desperate prisoners of possible death refused to help her carry her sister.  
  
Was this to be her fate? To die without ever saying goodbye to anyone she loved,   
  
not even her unconscious sister? Serena had once said that Dag Hammarskjold had said,   
  
"We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is   
  
ours." Neither Rei or Serena had chosen to be trapped, but Rei would be damned if she   
  
didn't try to change that. She mentally noted to thank Serena for that inspiring quote once   
  
she got them out of the darkness and into the light. And she would get them out.  
  
She could not help but cry out when a man pushed her against the wall   
  
in his frantic attempt for life. However she continued. All of the work her   
  
personal trainer had put her through never prepared her for this moment   
  
when about 60 floors later she gave up. She wouldn't leave her sister and she   
  
couldn't go any further without help with Serena. With a tremulous sigh, she   
  
wedged herself against a dark corner with her sister's golden head, now damp   
  
with blood in her lap. Dust and soot filled her senses and she pulled off her jacket and   
  
covered Rena. She sang softly, a song she had learned when she had seen a musical with   
  
Brad.  
  
Sleep in my arms now,  
  
All your pain is passed.  
  
Rest here in my waiting arms  
  
Now you are home at last.  
  
  
  
She sobbed when she heard the desperate screams of the man below who had lost   
  
all control. She huddled even further in the corner when another throng rushed passed in   
  
the chilling darkness.  
  
Serena flinched in Rei's arm. But Rei prayed that she wouldn't awaken, at least   
  
not to view this. Serena would be so frightened. Rei began to rock back and forth, her   
  
teeth chattering loudly. Over and over, she incoherently recited the Lord's Prayer while   
  
vigorously stroking Serena's back.  
  
This is how the man who would later be referred to as "the Dark   
  
Angel" found them. 


	3. Destiny is No Matter of Chance

Hey guys!! Sorry it's taken so long for me to update but I've been pretty busy with finals . . .   
  
ewe! Well I hope you enjoy this chapter of "Fate". Sorry if the formatting is a little off. I do not   
  
own Sailor Moon  
  
Fate  
  
Chapter 1  
  
S. Hairston  
  
Silence. Absolute silence. Darien could not quite decide what disgusted him more, the   
  
silence or the reporters standing right outside like vultures trying desperately to get a glimpse of a   
  
day that was sure to go down in history.   
  
He had seen as the second plane had hit and then he knew that the tragedy was no   
  
accident. He was still shocked at the sight of the plane colliding with the building. Why? That   
  
question repeatedly sounded in his mind. Who? Who would have done anything so cruel and   
  
harsh toward innocent people?  
  
He glanced around at his surroundings and he already knew that many people were dead .   
  
. . or were headed toward that direction. His stomach felt sour as he climbed the stairs along with   
  
his partner, almost knocked down several times by people frantic to get out of the hell that had   
  
once been such a prestigious structure. Candy no longer occupied his mind, instead he was   
  
focused on getting as many people out as possible . . . even if it meant possibly losing his life.   
  
As he climbed the stairs, searching for the survivors and the injured, he reflected on his   
  
years of working as a police officer. His father, Bryan, had been a police officer. Darien vividly   
  
remembered the pride his father took in being able to take criminals off the street and making the   
  
world just a bit more safe. In those days, Darien had seen his dad as a sort of super hero, as   
  
strong as Superman. Darien found out that his father was not quite a super hero in the hardest   
  
way. He was nine years old the night his father died and he remembered the pain in his mother's  
  
eyes when she told him and his younger sister what had happened.   
  
It had been later, much later in his life, when he found out exactly how Bryan had died.   
  
He had not been on duty that night, but instead, his life had been taken when he had attempted to   
  
coax the gun away from a heroin addict as he had tried to hold up a small market. At the   
  
discovery of that, Darien had pursued being an officer with a vengeance. He wanted to make   
  
every criminal pay.   
  
His mind wandered back to the current situation when he heard faint sobbing. "Hello? Is   
  
anyone up here? Please, I want to help you." Why would anyone still be up at such a high floor?   
  
Did they know what was going on, or were they severely hurt?  
  
"Go away! You don't want to help me!" A woman cried hoarsely.  
  
Lita coughed, "Honey, we do want to help you. Please, this building could collapse any   
  
second. Let us help you." She stared up at Darien with frightened eyes because she was terrified   
  
of the condition that the woman was in.   
  
She climbed from behind a piece of debris, every inch of her covered in soot and sweat.   
  
Darien instantly spotted the bloody stains on her hands and shirt. "Where are you hurt at?" He   
  
began to survey her as she fell against him weakly.  
  
"No, not my blood. My sisters . . . she's behind that board too."   
  
Darien nodded and met Lita's gaze over the woman's head. "Ma'am, my partner is going   
  
to help you out of the building. I'm going to carry your sister out, okay?"  
  
The brunette looked ready to protest, but then she nodded. As she and Lita began to   
  
blindly make their way down the stairwell, Darien heard Lita ask her, "What's your name,   
  
honey?"  
  
Darien heaved a tumultuous sigh as he moved the piece of board off of the woman. He   
  
gazed over her, noticing that the parts of her long blonde hair were matted with blood and there   
  
was a deep cut at the side of her face. He checked the rest of her carefully and his heart almost   
  
stopped when he felt how twisted her right ankle was. He gently lifted the hem of her jeans and   
  
rolled it upward. The flesh of her leg was obviously very damaged. Not only was it black and   
  
blue with bruises, but it was also severely swollen. A piece of debris fell from the ceiling and   
  
barely missed both of them.  
  
"Shit," he murmured, gathering her close to him and picking her up. She moaned in pain   
  
as he began to carry her down the steps. Wincing at the thought of causing her any more   
  
discomfort, he struggled to hold on to her and his flashlight . . . the only thing causing him from   
  
night falling down a flight of steps.  
  
"Where are we?" She murmured in the most melodic voice he had ever heard.  
  
"I'm getting you out of here." He assured her.  
  
He gazed down at her face just as her eyes fluttered open and he was lost in them. They   
  
were sapphire blue with just a tinge of gold.   
  
Serena's heart slammed against her chest, because, even through the debris and dust she   
  
could see his eyes, ice blue. "Dark Angel." She whispered just before closing her eyes again.  
  
Darien was even more determined to get out of the building. He was amazed at how fast   
  
he was able to get to the fourth floor stairwell but became somewhat discouraged at the volume   
  
of firemen going upward. One man bumped him abruptly against the wall and the blonde winced   
  
with pain.  
  
Slumping to the floor, Darien still held her tightly in his arms. His flashlight slid across   
  
the floor and he knew it was lost when another parade of firemen marched through the dimness   
  
and he heard it falling down the steps. He sighed and waited until they past and got back to his  
  
feet.   
  
"Rei . . . " She whimpered.  
  
Making his way through the darkness, he asked her, "Boyfriend?"  
  
She coughed, "Sister . . . sh - she's gone isn't she?"  
  
"No, my partner helped her get out. She's just fine." He figured that talking to her would   
  
be the best way to keep her conscious. She began to hum bars of a song and he smiled sadly   
  
when he recognized it. "You don't look old enough to know any 80s music." She was obviously   
  
out of it.  
  
"I had a dance recital and I did a whole Def Leppard segment." She whispered.  
  
"How long have you been dancing?" He asked her, desperate to keep her awake.  
  
She was silent for a few moments and he thought she had went unconscious. Her head   
  
was spinning and his words were becoming jumbled, "I didn't realize what was happening . . .   
  
Rei was complaining about planes and I turned . . . then everything went dark, so dark. I hate the   
  
dark . . . "  
  
He clutched her even closer if possible, she couldn't have been any older than twenty or   
  
so and he felt her tremble against him. "I've danced for 17 years . . . " She whispered finally.  
  
Realizing that they had finally reached the second floor, he smiled with relief. Freedom   
  
was two flights away, "Hold on, we're almost there." She was silent as he raced down the two   
  
flights and the images of what had happened played repeatedly in her mind. It seemed like a   
  
lifetime had danced by when she felt fresh air.   
  
He smiled ironically as the light of day hit his eyes and he praised gods silently, vowing   
  
to go to church on Sunday.  
  
Her sapphire orbs fluttered open again and she stared at him this time with an almost  
  
confused smile, "Am I dead?"  
  
He laughed, almost hysterically, as he pushed himself through the throng of people who   
  
were also seeking medical help, "Why would you think that?" He buried his head in her hair.  
  
"Because you have the most heavenly eyes that I have ever seen . . . dark angel . . . it fits   
  
you perfectly." Serena smiled up at him and then closed her eyes, letting a world of darkness   
  
engulf her.  
  
Brad Sutherland was headed home from a meeting in New Jersey at 10:00 a.m. He sang   
  
along with Eric Clapton's greatest hits on his car cd player as he thought of his wife. Not only   
  
had he landed a major client that day with Mr. McNeill, but he had also insured his future as an   
  
actual partner with his law firm. Murphy and McRae would now be Murphy, McRae, and   
  
Sutherland. He knew that Rei would be so proud when he told her the news that evening. He   
  
stopped at a gas station to get gas.   
  
He was a bit frustrated at the gas attendant because the man kept gazing back at the   
  
television set in the window. "Please, can you just pump my gas? You act as if you've never seen   
  
a bloody television program in your life."  
  
The attendant, who couldn't have been more than 18 shrugged, "I guess some people   
  
don't care about their country as others."  
  
Brad raised an eyebrow, "What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"   
  
"The World Trade Center . . . it's pretty bad." The youth stated.  
  
Silent, Brad made his way to the window and stared with horror at the sight he was   
  
seeing.   
  
The attendant was close on his heels, "Hey, mister . . . are you alright? You heard about   
  
it, right?"  
  
Brad couldn't speak for a moment, "When did this happen?"  
  
"Just this morning . . . almost nine or so. . . . you know someone in there?" The youth   
  
asked.  
  
"My wife." Brad stated. He handed the attendant a fifty-dollar bill, not really caring how   
  
much it was and he made his way to his car.  
  
"Don't you want your change?" The youth yelled after him.  
  
He sped away as he dialed Rei's cell phone. He cursed loudly and threw his own on the  
  
floor when he got her voice mail.   
  
Miles away, underneath pounds and pounds of debris, a faint ringing was the only sound  
  
heard in a deathly silent building.  
  
Serena couldn't open her eyes as images replayed in her nightmare.  
  
  
  
"I'm going to take this upstairs to Margo Ellis, she lent it to me to wear to Brad's birthday  
  
party and I just got it out the cleaners yesterday afternoon. We'll continue this discussion when I   
  
come back." Rei had said to her.  
  
Determined, she had blocked the doorway, "No way am I letting you leave until you at   
  
least hear me out.  
  
When Rei had told her to go ahead and speak, she had known she had won the argument.  
  
Another image appeared and her sister was complaining about the planes flying to close   
  
to the building . . . then there had been darkness.  
  
She felt herself falling and falling until there was light and she saw the icy blue eyes of  
  
the angel . . . her angel. "Dark angel . . . " She murmured.  
  
"Serena, can you hear me?" Rei asked. She gripped her sister's hand tightly and brushed   
  
briskly at the tears on her cheeks. Ever since they had arrived at St. Vincents more than four   
  
hours before. She coughed a racking cough that brought a nurse close to her.  
  
"Are you sure you don't need to be checked out again, ma'am?" The nurse asked   
  
concerned.  
  
"No! I want to be with my sister."Rei choked out.  
  
When they had first been brought in Rei had been taken to a separate room and she had   
  
managed to convince the doctor that she was perfectly fine, though she was not feeling well at   
  
all. She had called her parents and they had arrived about an hour later.  
  
"Rei, honey, please let them check you out again. We'll stay with her." Her mother placed   
  
a comforting hand on her shoulder but Rei shrugged her off.  
  
"No, Serena wasn't even supposed to be there today. I'll stay with her." She sighed,   
  
brushing Serena's hand with her face.  
  
Her parents glanced at each other. Serena's injuries were severe, but it was obvious that   
  
Rei was more injured than she would admit. Katherine Lawrence reached over and softly stroked   
  
her youngest daughter's now ear length hair. Serena would be heartbroken when she saw that her   
  
hair had been cut . . . but not as heartbroken as she would be when she found out about her right   
  
leg. Two of the bones in her knee had been fused together, creating a severe leg fracture.   
  
"Please Rei . . . for once in your life, forget being stubborn and let these people see you."   
  
Paul Lawrence pleaded with his daughter, staring her deep in the eyes.  
  
She sighed softly and thought for a moment, "Ok, walk with me daddy."  
  
As father and daughter walked down the corridor of St. Vincents, Rei finally let the   
  
events of the day register fully in her mind and she began to sob.  
  
  
  
Brad had arrived at RFD Tower, his and Rei's Upper East Side apartment a bit after 1:00.   
  
He had tried to go to the site of the tragedy, but it had been blocked off. Burying his face into his   
  
hands, Brad Sutherland tried to call his wife's parents once again only to receive an answering   
  
machine. He checked his watch and saw that it was 5:49 p.m. He was very discouraged. Sifting   
  
around through her desk, he found her assistant's cell phone number.  
  
  
  
David Pearson answered timidly, "Hello?"  
  
  
  
"Hello, David, this is Brad Sutherland. Is my wife with you? Do you know if she made it   
  
out of the building?"  
  
  
  
David's heart beat wildly. He could not tell Bradley Sutherland that he had deserted his   
  
wife and her sister. It would be a death wish almost. "I'm sorry Brad, I didn't see her . . . she   
  
never made it out." He listened as the other man broke down sobbing. Choosing not to say   
  
goodbye, he hung up.   
  
Brad sobbed into a pillow on the couch. Rei never made it out. His beautiful wife was   
  
gone. Never before in his life had he cried, but he loved Rei Lawrence Sutherland with all of his   
  
heart and soul. He didn't hear the front door when it opened.  
  
"You know, for such a tough guy, I never thought I would see tears come from you." A   
  
husky voice said from the doorway.  
  
Through hazy tears, he saw his wife and she was instantly in his arms, though she was   
  
coated in grime. "Rei Sutherland, I love you so much."  
  
She laughed sadly, "I love you too, Brad. I love you too. But I will tell you, the doorman   
  
thought I was crazy when I came in. I look like a chimney sweep." She sniffled.  
  
"Oh god Rei . . . I was going crazy without you." He whispered softly into her hair.  
  
"I'm pregnant." She stated firmly.  
  
He was still for a moment and then drew back and looked her in the eye, completely   
  
surprised. "You are pregnant? Or was pregnant?"  
  
She buried her face into his shirt, "I am . . . I don't know how I still am, but keep your   
  
fingers crossed."  
  
He gathered her into his arms and kissed her very gently, just as he did the first time they   
  
met.  
  
As she bathed, she told him about Serena, who was still lying unconscious in St. Vincents   
  
and the other atrocities she had seen that day and she wept. She told him about David last and   
  
was surprised at how quiet and reserved Brad was.  
  
"Let's go to bed." Brad urged, "Tomorrow we'll wake up early and go see Serena."  
  
He did not tell her about his good news from the law firm . . . or his conversation with   
  
David.  
  
Darien dragged himself into his small apartment at exactly 11:53 p.m. and sat on his   
  
couch with his face in his hands for at least a half an hour. He knew that he would not be able to   
  
sleep. Some of the sights he had seen were still embedded in his memory and he drank decanters   
  
of bourbon like water to keep from vomiting. When he finally did get the energy to take a  
  
shower, he stood under the refreshing cold water for over an hour trying to force himself to   
  
forget, but it was impossible.  
  
As he was drying off, his doorbell rang. He answered it and was thankful for the blonde  
  
on the other side. It was not Candy this time, but instead his younger sister, Mina. In her hands   
  
she had a box of pizza from his favorite late night pizza parlor and a 24 pack case of beer.  
  
"I thought you needed it." She whispered, avoiding the subject of his day.  
  
For the first time in over twelve hours he smiled, "I love you kiddo."  
  
When he finally closed his eyes more than four hours later, the only thing on his mind   
  
was a blonde with sapphire blue eyes with flecks of gold. 


End file.
